Quynh village kite

(Baonghean) -Quynh Doi Village (Quynh Luu) has long been famous as a village of scholars, a land of learning, a land that has produced many poets, patriots, and revolutionaries... But few people know that this place is also a village of flutes. In the past, at kite competitions, Quynh Doi flutes always competed for first place...

There are very few people in Quynh Doi village who know how to make flutes. I wandered around and asked around, and the locals showed me to Mr. Cu Chinh Vi's house: "Now he is the only one who makes the best flutes. In the past, there was also Mr. Lang, but he passed away a few years ago." The land of Quynh village is like a chessboard, so it was not difficult to find Mr. Vi's house. As soon as I said hello, he asked: "Are you here to order a flute? I'm too busy to make it anymore." It turned out that because he is now one of the few people who still knows how to make flutes, many people from all over the place come to order him to make them. This year, Mr. Cu Chinh Vi is 68 years old. When I asked him to tell me about the old kite village, he suddenly said "ah" and then his face relaxed to remember the bustling times long gone.

Until about 30 years ago, Quynh Doi village still resounded with the buzzing, buzzing sound of kite flutes day and night. Every house flew kites, every person played kites. Mr. Cu Chinh Vi, who was only 14 or 15 years old at that time, also lost his appetite and sleep because of kites. On summer days like now, looking up at the sky, you can always see dozens of kites, each 4-6m long. After a hard day's work, in the evening, villagers from children to young people, even the elderly, would go fly kites together, then leave the kites flying all night. The later the night, the quieter the scene, the more people fell asleep, the higher and clearer the sound of the flute became. From midnight to dawn, the loud flutes were scattered, the small flutes were high and fast, following each high and low wind...

The hobby is also very elaborate, making a kite flute is not simple. In the past, when our ancestors made kites, it is impossible to tell all the wonders and meticulousness. Mr. Vi said: “A whole kite was as big as a three-room house, but it was made entirely of moi paper (Chinese writing paper). The elders painstakingly sat and spread the sap of the fig tree to glue the kite, gluing it wide enough was a lot of work, and they also stacked 3-4 layers on top of each other to make it thick, and when dried, it was both hard and strong. As for the kite string, we broke a branch of a parasol tree, crushed it, and used the fibers to braid it, or we could also use the ribs of coconut leaves.

Every time we carry a kite to fly, it takes several people at the same time, one lifts it, one holds it, one limps and holds it behind. We have to tie the kite to the tree first, then we can fly it (run to fly it), otherwise, we won't have the strength to hold the string, not to mention the person being dragged away by the kite. But if we are not careful, the kite will fall into the field, get wet and it will be ruined. But the elders still love it like crazy". Later, learning from experience, the younger generation no longer glues paper kites, but makes kites out of plastic sheets, sewn with a string, it is fast, light, and even if it falls into the water, it is okay, we can scoop it up and continue playing.

The stories about kite players are still told by the people of Quynh village to this day. The nights lying under the tree to watch the kite, when the wind is strong, they loosen the string, when the wind is calm, they tighten the string to prevent the kite from sagging. There are also stories about many kite flyers who encountered strong winds, got lifted up by the kite and dragged across the field, had to let go of the kite, and the next day, went down to the village below to find the kite. Nowadays, many people still know how to make kites, because it is not difficult, if you pay a little attention, you can learn, but not everyone knows how to make flutes.

A set of flutes in Quynh Doi usually has a large and small pair. The best body of the flute is made from old bamboo tubes, not bamboo or reed. Meter tubes can also be made, but the sound will be muffled and not clear. All are thrown into the pond to soak for a whole year before being scooped up for use.



Mr. Cu Xuan Vi with a pair of flutes over 30 years old.

To carve a pair of flutes, one must work hard for several days, attentively and meticulously, using a knife to carve, scoop, prick, and pry. The mouth of the flute must be carved from yellow heartwood. There is nothing better than this type of wood, it is easy to carve and has a strong, clear, sweet sound... After carving, test the sound, then adjust the mouths on both sides to be the same, if they are different, the sound will no longer be good, that is why people call flutes homophonous.

No one here has witnessed the kite competition in the past, but according to the grandparents, the Quynh Doi kite flute village is famous because in kite competitions, the kites of my village always won the championship. People put two sharp swords parallel to each other, the kite that is balanced and flies straight up will not be broken, but the kite that is not made properly will be thrown back and forth, cutting the sword and breaking immediately. The kites of Quynh village always fly high, with sweet flute sounds.

The contest has long since ceased, and kite flute makers are now rare. It’s not that they no longer love or are fascinated by the sound of the flute, but that life has too many worries, so there is not enough time for this elaborate hobby. According to Mr. Vi, the scarcity of kite flutes began when electricity was introduced. Electricity, television, and many other entertainments made kite flying no longer the only hobby. Moreover, electric wires were strung throughout the village, and flying kites as big as houses was very dangerous. Then the population grew more and more crowded, more houses were built, and kites could only be flown in the fields. Old bamboo pieces to make flutes also became increasingly rare.

Mr. Vi climbed up to the attic and took down a pair of flutes that were over 30 years old to show me. He boasted that few pairs of flutes could match their sound, and that many people wanted to buy them, but he refused to sell them. In his youth, when there were many people making them, everyone competed to see whose flute sounded better and more accurate. But in his entire life, he could only make a few pairs of flutes that he liked. Also passionate about and making flutes with him was Mr. Ho Lang, a very talented man. He passed on his craft to his grandson, who recently passed away. However, the grandson only knew how to keep the pairs of flutes his grandfather had carved, but he himself did not know how to make them. The kite flute gradually faded away, so Mr. Vi also kept it, and every now and then, when he missed it too much, he would take it out and make a new kite to fly...

Leaving the Quynh Doi kite village, I kept hearing the verses that Mr. Vi suddenly remembered and hummed: "The work of making a kite/ Tell me all the works/ I sit and think about life/ Have enough fun, no job is as enjoyable as flying a kite..."!

Lake Lai